Give Peace a Chance

Poem about the futility of war

20 lines

Was there ever a time peace was given a chance?
Not in my lifetime—perhaps not yours.
It starts, it seems, with barely a glance
At another man’s land—before it ends in wars.


What’s yours is mine, it’s only fair
After all. But what’s mine is also mine;
Better not resist (that’s the start of the dare),
Unless you declare you think it’s thine!


Why do men covet what belongs to another?
Now politicians have their say,
In endless meetings carelessly,
While children starve and futures fade away.


They trade in lives behind closed doors,
Reshaping maps with little thought.
They play their childhood games of wars,
As empty bowls return with naught.


What can we do, helpless, yet forced to look upon
The tears, the gnawing hunger and the death
Till nothing’s left, when all is gone
Until the innocents of Gaza have taken their last breath.